A motor vehicle control system has a number of functional components, for example, an internal combustion engine functional component, a transmission functional component, a brake functional component and a battery functional component, such that the individual functional components acting in coordination ensure the correct operation of the motor vehicle. A motor vehicle control system, for controlling a motor vehicle with a hybrid drive, additionally requires a hybrid functional component.
In motor vehicle control systems known from the prior art, the individual functional components exchange information or data via data buses, and are coordinated by a central coordination device. This creates a hierarchic, tree-like structure for the motor vehicle control system, but the said hierarchic tree-like structure requires a powerful central coordination device by means of which all the communications between the individual functional components can be handled.